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Bongani Ndlovu, Showbiz Correspondent
THE Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo, a celebration of arts in the City of Kings and Queens, has come and gone.

The five-day fete began last Tuesday with a play called Bloom Bloom by Umkhathi Theatre Works, a production that received rave reviews from theatre enthusiasts. It went into full gear the next day with a whole host of shows and workshops.

The highlight of this year’s festival, however, was theatre as almost all shows commanded full houses.

This either is evidence that there was an appreciation of theatre productions or that the productions were very compelling to watch, something organisers should be commended for.

Productions such as The Hostel, Blood Tongue and 1983 The Dark Years stood out during the festival as they made people talk. This is what art is supposed to do, evoke dialogue about topics in the public sphere.

Another highlight of the festival was the Women, Wine and Words concert held at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo last Thursday.

The ladies, especially jazz musician Edith WeUtonga, singer Massa Caroleen and Prudence Mabhena gave their all on stage giving attendees high entertainment value for the least amount of money ($5), plus a free glass of wine. From this event, it was clear that female artistes have untapped talent that people need to pay more attention to.

Another genre that has for the past years been growing is comedy and this year, the two shows held had full houses. However, there were problems at these shows as two of the billed performers Nceku and Clive Chigubu pulled a no show.

On the first Comedy Night last Friday, Chigubu was supposed to share the stage with Comic Pastor and Zwexy but he was nowhere to be seen and Mandla Da Comedian had to come to the rescue at the end.

Although Mandla tried to make up for the missing Chigubu, his set was flat.

Away from the Comedy Nights, the festival only got really going for the public on Friday when the main stage was erected at the Large City Hall car park. This is where the Cover’s Night was and artistes did their best to impersonate the likes of Busi Ncube, Don Gumbo, Jah Prayzah, Oliver Mtukudzi, Lovemore Majaivana and the like. Hundreds of people converged and had an enjoyable night.

On Saturday, the last day of the festival, the Umcimbi Wabantu which was organised by Skyz Metro FM, was held. Although the show ended prematurely because of a blackout, it was a night on which artistes brought their A game on stage.

Going forward, organisers of Intwasa should vigorously market and advertise the festival to the greater part of Bulawayo and even outside the city so that it attracts many people. They should also look at having partnerships where they can leverage on companies to use the festival as a platform to market their goods.

The opening ceremony, a free event that is usually held at the Large City Hall car park either on the first or second day to mark the beginning of the festival, also needs to be brought back.

People in the city had become accustomed to it as it served as a signal of the return of the festival each year. Also, since most musicians and dance groups would collaborate for the opening ceremony, this brought a sense of unity in the Bulawayo arts industry and the result was often a mind-blowing act.

A fireworks display, though it may sound outdated, may also be another exciting way to get people interested in the fete so organisers may want to reconsider having this display like they used to in order to generate more interest from the public.